Absolute Zero
by Icey Knuckles
Summary: The beginning of SubZero as he learns of his powers in a modern era. R&R Please, feedback really helps the story.
1. Prelude

Prelude

Rage pumped through my veins. Every pulse of my heart echoed tenfold throughout my body and pounded my temples. I could feel my glove get colder and colder between my weapon and my hand. I squeezed tight to the grip attempting to regain control but I knew I would lose it. The leather of in my palm frosted over and crumbled. My firearm quickly followed suit and they both became a pile of ice shattered at my feet.

Damn! I'm not some idiot. I can control this. The rage slowly subsides and I regain my thoughts. Nothing stands between me and my current goal. Scorpion would pay... he would pay. I slowly and steadily walk into the open. Clear as I anticipated. The whole street was way too quiet and clear. I was done with the bullshit illusions, she was going to die. One step in front of the other right through my front door. Every second monitoring my senses to make sure I didn't go overboard and freeze something else. My favorite weapon was now in ruin outside because I lost it for a second. I walk up the stairs to the master bedroom. The whole house in perfect order... a fact I knew to be untrue. There on the bed, my target. Motionless, taunting me.

I couldn't lose it again. It would cost me too much this time. I wrapped my fingers around her neck and focused on the pain Scorpion has caused me. The heat started in my chest. I worked it out to my arm. As soon as it reached a point of my body that had contact with air my arm faded to blue. The cold overwhelmed it and worked its way down. just before it touched my fingertips the figure disappeared. The scene instantly turned to the truth. The whole house torn almost to its foundation. Around me were ten spitting images of Scorpion. I shove the rage through my other arm and prepare for battle....

"Why don't you stay with us? We aren't so different you and I? Both being trained for combat from birth."

"I wasn't trained for combat. I was trained to kill."


	2. Awakening

Awakening

I don't remember anything of my early childhood. All I know are the stories. The Grandmaster tells me I was discarded from my family like a common disease. He says the Lin Kuei are my family now. We are forbidden friends, our existence is forced simplicity. Trust no one, your trust can only be given to the clan as a whole. Each individual a building block, weak in their own sense but important all the same. Not to say they aren't disposable...

Today it was my own blood on the chopping block. My brother SubZero stood before the council of elders to face the most serious of charges: Defeat. He knelt in our classic style, one knee on the ground and head arched towards the floor. His clothes were that of a monk. Long silky robes with a sash red with the stain of blood and a single name to signify his first kill. The Lin Kuei were not some ordinary temple. It was a temple of death. Each monk trained here is pushed past his limits. Those who live, kill.

I was never quite as good as my brother. He was their star pupil. My sash still white with ignorance for the circle of life. I don't know what happened on SubZero's mission but I know there will be blood spilt for his mistakes.

"Rise, SubZero." The Grandmaster spoke through thick dark robes with blue trim. "Beg for your forgiveness. Beg for suffrage." The room was silent and time stood still. Why wouldn't he answer? All he would have to do is plea forgiveness and his life would be spared. I could see The Grandmaster bow his head slightly in disappointment. He could no longer keep this defiance. I imagined pain in my brother's eyes but I would never really know. A shorter man revealed himself from behind The Grandmaster. He glided to where my brother stood, in the middle of everyone else and place a hand on his chest.

This pushed my brother too far. The man in front of him was the Coward Taker, capable of delivering death with touch. He was only used when the target was considered true coward. In a split second SubZero's arms turned a sickening blue and he swung at the Coward Taker's arm. As soon as he make contact it turned to ice and shattered. The room was battle ready, SubZero had no escape. Coward Taker lay shocked at his feet staring at his missing limb, completely unresponsive.

"I will not be made a coward! I accept your punishment on my terms." SubZero held out his arms and made a cross with his body. Ice rolled over him starting at his hands and totally consuming him. For a split moment he was an ice crucifix and then he fell backward to the stone. He became a million broken pieces of his former glory.

That night I had a fever. My temperature rocketed up the 104 degrees. In my mind I replayed that scene in my head over and over. I was cold, my bed seemed a freezer. I closed my eyes in an attempt to finally put the images out of my head. It didn't work. Nothing will ever erase the feeling of losing my only chance at a real family.

A single tear fell out of my eye, it froze on my cheek.


	3. The Lin Kuei

The Lin Kuei

"Wake my child... Wake my child..." These words echoed inside of my head. I couldn't tell if I was still in dream or awake. My whole body ached with pain. My upper body was cold and rigid, too cold. It was unnatural. My eyelids were weighted down with a sleepless night. I finally summon the constitution to open them. It was still dark in our temple but I knew the sun had already rose. Furious for not being able to sleep I roll off of the bed and right into push-up position. My plan was to do my fifty to wake up but I froze in place. My hands were slowly tinting a pale blue. Around them frost was starting to form in a perfect silhouette of my hand. What the hell is happening to me?!

Just then my eye caught a note beside my bed, written in blood ink was a note from The Grandmaster.

"Come to me, my child."

Simple enough as notes go. I was still dumbfounded by my display of unnatural physics. I looked back at my hands and realized in that short time they had almost turn back to my natural skin color. They still held on the the faintest blue. I quickly looked to the ground, afraid the evidence there was disappearing too. It was starting to melt but it was and undeniable truth: something was wrong. I took the letter in my hand and looked at it for a long moment as if to see some message that wasn't clear the first time. Nothing more than a simple summons.

I walk the halls towards Grandmaster Hall. It is where The Grandmasters stay. The Lin Kuei are divided into five separate groups. As far as I know it is to further divide us more than anything else. Each group has his their own grandmaster. He is your only contact in your long years here. I reach the huge metal door, and a step before the door I hear it move. He was anticipating my arrival and the door opened so quickly I didn't even have to break stride.

"Johns, my child, come closer." I obey. "You are aware of the failed mission against the life of Aaron McCallen?"

I nod. I was my brother's mission. I was unaware of the details of his defeat but I knew that was the reasoning for last night's display. Three days ago a man in yellow robes came to the temple to request the murder of McCallen. The charges were never released to the lower ranks of the clan but they must have been serious considering they sent SubZero the do the job. Defeat was never an option for him, death before dishonor was his way of life. It was a major blow for the public face of the Lin Kuei to fail in this mission, that was why SubZero had to give his life. He was an example for the rest of us, the true cost of defeat.

"You are now charged with the life of Aaron McCallen." I feared as much. He stepped forward with an old quill ink pen. In dark black he wrote the name of McCallen diagonally across my sash. "You will leave this temple. You will kill Aaron McCallen. You will not return until this has been completed. You have the rest of your day to prepare for what lies ahead. Do you accept this life to be extinguished by your hand?"

"With my life or with my death, Aaron McCallen will die." With those words I signed I soul-binding contract with the Lin Kuei.

"You have your day."

I spent the day checking and rechecking my weapons. My arsenal consisted of two 9mm Beretta handguns, several throwing knives, and a straight-sword. It's not much but it's deadly efficient. As soon as the sun fell I was off. I wouldn't stop until I reached the city.

My first kill lies close in the city of Phoenix. Our temple lies hidden deep in the Arizona desert. Under the cover of night it feels unusually cold but I figured it would be better than the scorching heat of the day. My peaked physical abilities allow me to run the entire way without much difficulty. On the way I think about my situation. The Lin Kuei demands 'Kill or be killed.' Ironic to think we claim to be peace-keepers.


	4. Phoenix

Phoenix

The city is warm. I like that. The temple is always so cold and dark. Most of my kind prefer it that way. The world is always so cold to me. We are meant to mirror our environment, cold and hard as the stone that encased us.

I find myself in an uninteresting hotel room. I'm on the outskirts of Phoenix reviewing what I know about my target before I decide how to strike. This is my first mission that involves our ancient way.

Aaron McCallen. The bane of my brother's life. Damn... I should quit thinking about him. My life must move on, he's made his choices. I take a moment to clear my head and get back to the topic. I go back over what I know. Aaron McCallen used to be a part of the Black Dragon clan. I don't know many details about them but I do know they out-date the Lin Kuei by a long shot. Much older than the Tengu as well. He was high ranking within the Black Dragon and they do not take defection lightly. The information given to me tells me McCallen join the Tengu clan. As to why I wasn't told.

The Tengu clan is much like the Lin Kuei. Their leader, a ninja called Scorpion. Scorpion is a damned soldier in charge of Hell Realm. In other words he's never really dead. I remember hearing the stories of my brother's victories against him. Killing him over and over again, but it seems it was only a method in which to slow him down. He harbors a blood feud against my family. Well I guess, against me. There are no others that carry our name.

What could Scorpion have offered McCallen to convince him to leave such a place of honor? Snap out of it! This is not my place... I am the assassin not the philosopher. The why should make no different to me. Back to my job.

Tomorrow McCallen is staying at this hotel. He's reserved the room directly across the hall. My plan is simple, I play the waiting game. There is nothing more I can possibly do tonight, I spent most of the day getting to the hotel. By the time I got here my limbs ached with fatigue. I claimed my preplanned reservation arranged by the Lin Kuei and went to my room. It was on the third story and almost to the end of the hall. To the left of my room there are two more rooms and then the fire escape. As I mentioned before across the hall will be McCallen's room and to the left of it is the janitors' closet. I only came across one person on the elevator to the third floor. A short, skinny, brunette girl not much older than twelve.

My room was as basic as it gets. You walk in and there is a window with ugly curtains opened across it revealing a three-story drop to the parking-lot. To my immediate right is a bathroom with a single toilet and a shower with the toiletries included. The next thing I noticed was the bed. It was a twin-sized bed between the bathroom and window with a flower comforter that only vaguely matched the curtains. Finally, there was a television sitting on a dresser in eye's-view of the bed.

I may have lived almost all of my life in the temple but we are well taught in human nature. I'm not sleeping on that disgusting bed. If I sleep at all tonight it will be on the floor. At least that'll be half-way cleaned.

I felt the thrust of hunger knock at my door. I reached for the hotel phone next to the bed and dialed room service. It rang twice.

"Front desk, this is Katie!" Damn... That girl is too excited about her job.

"I'd like something to eat." Doesn't get more simple than that.

"What would you like, Sir?" She replied, still way too excited... It was getting on my nerves.

"Surprise me." Maybe if I kept my sentences short and simple it'll knock her down a few notches.

"Would you like a menu, Sir?" I could almost hear that damn smile radiating through the phone. What the hell is she so happy about? Besides that I don't remember saying anything about a menu. Can't she follow some basic instructions?

"Sir?" She repeated into the receiver. Was she seriously trying to pressure me into making a decision? The pause was only about two seconds. This lady must have been hyped up on caffeine.

"No, I would not like a menu." I was laying it on in a pretty sarcastic tone. "But, I would like you to surprise me with something to eat in less than ten minutes."

"What do you actually mean by 'surprise you,' Sir?" Holy shit, I am going to lose it. She is the dumbest person I've ever had to encounter! I could feel the heat building up inside me. I heard a cracking noise way too close to my ear. I retracted my hand from the telephone receiver and watched the two separate pieces fall to the hotel's crappy red carpet. It was broken clean in half and both of them were petrified in ice. What in hell just happened?!

I quickly look at my hands just in time to see them blend back to the white/tan color of my natural skin. A second ago they must have been bright blue. I recognize where I've seen this before...

My brother was always considered special even among the Lin Kuei. Everything he touched turned to ice since before I could remember. His hands were always a few shades more blue than was normal. Am I becoming him? Did his death somehow trigger something inside of me? These are questions I must ask The Grandmaster when I return to the temple. Until then my plan is to keep my mind totally focused and avoid touching anything I might ever want to see again.

I remove my street clothes and change back into my robes, within the safety of my room I might as well be comfortable. I never really got used to the fit of jeans and a T-shirt. I kneel down to meditate until morning. I close my eyes and make a mental image of my surrounding in my head, attempting to pick out every single detail.

Knock, knock says the door. Shit... I should have heard the footsteps.

"Room serv-"

"Get over here!" The sound of flesh being mangled filled my head and I jumped to my feet. In my mind's eye I could see very clearly the yellow-hooded soldier that awaits outside my room.

The very head of the snake that calls itself the Tengu clan. I was always told that when you cut off the head of the snake the body dies. Such a pity, I had hoped to torture it by starting at the other end until it begged for death.

I have no other options, I would have to fight. I would call this a fight to the death, but I'm not stopping there.


	5. Scorpion

Scorpion

Just as I remembered him from my dreams. Slightly shorter than average height, and clad in yellow robes. I hood covered his expression but I imagine right now he's feeling a little like a winner. Too bad...

This was going to complicate things. My target was supposed to be here tomorrow night. If I fight here the police will have this place on lock-down. I wondered how much he knew. If he knew anything about my mission he would be protecting McCallen. If that was the case I was already compromised and McCallen wasn't coming anyway.

At Scorpion's feet was what I assumed to be room service. A small young lady bleeding on the floor, motionless. A snake removes itself from her body and coils back into his hand and the gaping whole on his palm closes. He stands in a clear fighting position. His left arm out on guard and his right chambered back behind his head. I see where he would get his name.

He takes a quick step towards me and jumps into the air extending his leg and curling the other one beneath it. I duck under it and roll forward spinning around as I rise back up to face my opponent he was already back on guard. Damn he's fast. He closes the gap. His movements are a blur to my vision but I could sense the movement and react accordingly before I ever really thought about it. All the training in the temple gave me an edge to the normal adversary. With him though my best efforts seemed mediocre.

Every strike I threw at him he brushed away like the mid-morning's breeze, almost mockingly. He quickly stepped up his game and put me on the defensive. Block left. Block right. Block high. Dodge left. I worked hard to separate my senses from my conscience thought so I could react with better time but to no avail. Scorpion gave no opening and I was quickly running out of options. Where were those ice powers when I needed them?

I let out a burst of air and before I really knew what happened I was sprawled on the ground. He expertly re-chambered his kick and stood on guard, waiting. He reached around his back and revealed a sword. He stood in a samurai guard with the blade concealed behind his rear leg. I jumped up and rolled into my hotel room. On top of the bed was my blade waiting to be implemented into our battle. I drew it and walked confidently into the hall. He still stood, waiting. This put me on edge. I couldn't take this anymore I stepped forward into my swing.

Most people don't understand how ninjas will sword fight. Our blades and thin but devastatingly sharp and quick. Contact with another blade is likely to break both so it is a last defense for a ninja to block with his blade. We are equipped with forearm guards that would do the needed blocking.

We traded strikes almost one for one and for a while there was no contact whatsoever. He would slice at my neck I would duck and rise under his guard and he would reposition around my blade.

Our weapons swinging closer and closer but never hitting home. My training taught me to not let my emotions interfere with my fighting. Anger, hate, and revenge poison your blood and kill you from inside in mid-fight. They would tell my enemy everything he needed to know to kill me. I was always told the easiest way to kill a man is to anger him. The scary part was that Scorpion was angry. He hated me, everything about me. The emotion rolled off of him like a waterfall, threatening to drown me with its very essence.

Adapt. Modify. Improvise. To every rule there is an exception, maybe he was the exception. If I mirror him maybe I could find a hole in his defense. I envision the picture of the last moments of SubZero. I link Scorpion to that, he had a hand in this somehow. If he couldn't beat my brother in a fair fight he would find the loophole somehow. If SubZero could kill him then I could too. I just have to think, concentrate. Anger consumed me.

Ice shot through my limbs making them rock solid and arctic cold. It worked! The blue barrage struck Scorpion again and again. He slow started receding from the fight. His sword strokes started to move towards the defensive. The conflict broke momentarily and I could see the ice traveled all the way to the tip of my sword. Damn...

Scorpion noticed too. He chambered his leg and in the blink of an eye his heel made contact with the blade and shattered it through the hall. Our fight was relatively quiet up till that point. The shards impaled themselves in almost every surface they could reach, Scorpion and myself included. Although they were minor wounds and held no real consequence. Scorpion retook the offensive.

Swing after swing backed me through the hall. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs and knew we had precious little time before security reached the third floor. I had to return to my calmed state to continue dodging at such a rate and I could feel the ice receding up my arm. Then it hit me, I was exhausted. This is sacrilege, I never get tired like this. It triggered the anger once more.

The ice reinstated itself in my limbs. Now my energy was almost completely gone. I couldn't focus at all. Scorpion caught his chance and kicked me solidly in the face. Not content with that he back-flipped bringing his rear leg around and caught me under my chin. My back slammed against the ground and before my eyes went black I could see the string of fire fade from the path of his rear leg. Damn elementals...

There comes a point when you make a realization. I think my time is right now. I will always be remembered from my brother's shadow. Even if I had the time left in this world to attempt to escape my overcast I would never be able. He would've always been better. I could never live up to his name, maybe that's why I have to die. I've bitten off more than I could possibly chew and the world is just balancing it out. Maybe it is best my family ends the way it did. This way my would-have-been mistakes will never darken the reputation. I almost felt honored to end this way, a part of a legacy, the last chapter of a legend. I am SubZero now, and I will carry this name to my grave.

My world is cold and black, this must be what death feels like. And to think I was so eager to take another's life. It's a sickening feeling when you realize you have no more blood to bleed.

"... Take him t..."

"...Yes my ma..."

"... Time has..."

That blackness faded in and out with white. I couldn't hold on to thought and everything blurred together. No feeling. No emotion. No desire. I cannot redeem myself apparently, I'm damned to hell.

Blackness.


	6. Realizations

Realizations

They say you can never really learn anything from victory and you can't really enjoy victory until you've tasted defeat. Joy must teach us nothing. It's only logical, all that time I spent doing things I enjoy simply made me weak. I couldn't defeat Scorpion because I was weak.

Pain is weakness leaving the body. That is why I embrace my current horror. I have no sense of direction, I cannot tell if my eyes are open or shut. All I know is my world right now is cold, dark, and... slightly humid. What the hell is this: the sewers of Georgia? Pain was digging into the back of my skull, ever so slightly. It felt like a parasite was trying to sneak his way into my head without my knowledge.

Then again, why should I care? I'm supposed to be burning in flames for the rest of eternity anyways! Somehow this was different though. I know this isn't heaven but it feels nothing like I envisioned hell. Of course it is no picnic, but if I really wanted to I could push that pain out completely. Maybe that was the torture, an endless life and a nagging mind splinter. Or maybe something else.

Maybe I've resigned my life too quickly. Maybe that splinter is a thread of life still inside of me. What did I have to lose? I focused on that pain. I envisioned the ice like that pain, I imagined it flowing over me. Damn! Wait... That's a good thing! It's working I can pull it to the front of my mind.

For a few moments I had to concentrate on keeping the hurt there. The pain made it increasingly difficult to want this but I kept focused. Then it all rushed to me. It was like being crushed under a tsunami.

I could feel my limbs. Shit! Now I don't even want to feel them. They sting and ache and feel useless. Maybe I made a mistake... I probably just reversed my thinking of coming back to life and sent myself to death and by consequence, hell.

"Ironically, you are so close to the truth." The voice wasn't as malicious as I would've expected. It was almost like I was an infant being sweet-talked to sleep by his mother. I contemplated replying but I wasn't quite sure what to say. It was safe to say I was a little confused still.

"I can tell exactly what you are thinking, Brother. For I was in such a place many years ago." Brother? It made my blood boil. This was not the voice of my kin. Cold crept through my corpse.

I suddenly gained a higher level of conscientiousness and I could feel the pain slowly relieve itself. Then it hurt a lot more. Holy crap, like the shattered pieces of my bones were trying to gnaw their way out of my skin. What is happening to me?! Suddenly that pain was gone, my limbs were limp but painless. I flexed each one individually and they seemed to work. My eyes still closed, I could only guess the damage that was done.

"Wake up, SubZero." I was confused by this new voice. So foreign yet familiar. I've heard it before but

in some different context. My anger turned to curiosity. Immediate fatigue blew me over and I started to fade again.

Blackness.

Hours? Days? Years? Who knows how long I was out. I'm awake now though. When I was younger my brother taught me his way of waking up from a sleep. First, you must scan your entire environment with every sense except for sight. I was told that is the first sign someone has woken, if you aren't ready for battle the moment you open your eyes you are simply ill-prepared.

From what I could tell I was on a stone slab in the middle of an empty room made of some kind of rock. That is why the cold is so intense here. We must be underground somewhere. This place seemed all too familiar. Could I possibly be... In the temple? I couldn't determine someone in here with me. It felt deadly still. I prepared to fight, my eyes slowly opened.

I was alone, I was covered in blood. My right eye could barely open and I felt a clean gash that started on my forehead and ran right over my eye to the corner of my lip. It was still open and bleeding, he must have caught me with his sword. Wait... I hear breathing...

I spun around and a soldier stood in his yellow robes. Tengu. I am alive. I'm a prisoner. I must escape.

"Speak Tengu! Where am I?" I spat at my captor.

"You should be thanking me. You see, I've set you free." His voice was cool, slick, and very confident. Arrogance seeped out of every hole in his body. I could tell he's going to get on my nerves real quick.

"Speak sense or not at all! I won't play into your mind games." I took a forward aggressive step and it didn't seem to phase him. I'm about to knock him down a few notches.

"I know things about you that you couldn't possibly imagine. You, your powers, your family, your clan, your thoughts, your dreams, nothing is hidden, within these walls there are no secrets.

"Strike two."

"It's very interesting to observe you SubZero. You suffered debilitating injuries fighting Scorpion, yet somehow the flesh wounds are all the remain." His demeanor hasn't changed one bit. His cryptic words annoy the shit out of me.

I took a chance at looking like an idiot. I forced anger through my body and clenched my fists. I didn't look but I knew it had worked, his face started showing a hint of fear. He quickly covered it up but I know I saw it.

I wrapped my right hand around his throat and he allowed it. I knew it felt cold to him but it wasn't doing the damage I wished for.

"Transfer your hate to me." I barely questioned the words. It felt as if he's been my mentor for years. I did as he said and I saw the pain inside his eyes. The skin closest to my hand turned blue and started cracking, about to crumble.

"You won't kill me. I know things you have begged to know for as long as you can remember. Things the Lin Kuei will never tell you. If you kill me you will never know of your family. Johns Zero, I am your only chance." My family? For as long as I've lived The Grandmaster has told me of my family's death and how they saved my brother and I. I receded all feeling and stepped back.

"Tell me of my sister"

Aaron McCallen looked back into my eyes with almost a sense of pity but I imagine he knew better.


	7. Seeds of Doubt

Seeds of Doubt

I have no idea where that came from. I was never told I had a sister, when I was with the Lin Kuei all I knew was my family was attacked by robbers and The Grandmaster saved my brother and I. I do remember a dream I had during my earlier years in the clan.

"Bruder! Momma said no! Momma said no!" A little girl with snow white hair that matched mine perfectly. "Don't go bruder! Momma be mad!"

"Cool it Sarah, nothing is gonna happen. It's faster to get home this way." My brother's distinguished voice was cooled and persuading. His hair longer than mine blew lightly in the wind. It was February and the lake he wanted to crossed wasn't supposed to be frozen. The ice would be way too thin to support all three of us, but I trusted my brother.

He stepped on to the ice and it seemed to almost solidify underneath his feet. I followed but Sarah wouldn't budge. For a moment my dream would go black.

"Bruder!!!" The scream was ear shattering. The pure horror behind Sarah's call always woke me up. Right before I did though the image of a Lin Kuei Grandmaster would appear. I recognized the crest on his old battle uniform but he was one I've never seen in our temple. Like mine, his hair was white. He wore a blue and black tunic and a half-face breathing mask. You could clearly see a bluish scar running down the side of his face. He was on the ground, broken in defeat, moments from death.

"Amazing. Tell me, what do you know of her?" He ask, now slightly intrigued.

"Sarah... Her name was Sarah."

"Is." My heart melted.

"Sarah is alive?!" I was shocked. After so many years. Moments ago I didn't even know if she ever existed, now I have a hope of family.

"Not only Sarah, but your mother as well." He tempted my questions. My forearm burned with extreme intensity, Lin Kuei. My tattoo felt like it was ripping at my skin trying to be free. It was a tool used by the call to call their assassins back. They knew I lived. I couldn't just deny their summons. I had to find a way out.

Besides the Lin Kuei would never lie to me. We were all family there and I could not trust this, Aaron McCallen. He was sentenced to die, he would probably do anything to get out of his justice. Perhaps this was even a test. Our protocol was that when you felt the tattoo you are to abort the mission and there would be no shame in returning. Honestly I've only felt it once before, long ago in Hawaii stealing an old artifact from a Black Dragon consigliere. It was going to be used as diplomatic leverage for them to cease operation in Arizona but they decided to send a different kind of message.

My task was simple, escape. How, remained the question. The room had no doors or windows. Possibly intimidation... I allowed anger to fuel me.

"I will not buy into your lies, Sorcerer! You will release me at once or you will die." Simple. Effective.

"As you wish, SubZero. All I ask is you think about my words, I have no reason to lie. Return to your temple and see what answers you will receive. When you change your mind-"

"When?! Silence yourself and free me!"

"-When you change your mind, return."

I attempted to argue. He made no sense! Return to where? When I change my mind? Answers?

Blackness.

My next memories are kneeling in front of The Grandmaster.

"It doesn't make sense, Master. How could he know?"

"Our enemies have their ways. The Tengu have many just as talented as you. Sibrand, McCallen, Mackie, Remoré, Allistain. All of them to be eliminated before you can really understand the truth of their lies."

"McCallen? What is his... Talent?"

"Aaron McCallen is an illusionist. The room you described was nothing more than a shared figment of your imaginations. He has proved too difficult for your unrefined skills. You are to set your focus of Robert Allistain. Allistain has an unnatural strength and acts as the muscle of the Tengu, but like all talents it has holes and weaknesses. Find them, exploit them, kill him."

"Yes, Master."

"Go. All of the information you will need is in your room"

"If I may, Master?"

"Hmm?"

"What of my family?" My question obviously caught him totally off guard. He signaled for me to follow him out of the room. I did so. He led to the training room where the youngest of our clan were fighting each other.

"This is your family, and don't you dare forget it." His threat tore my insides apart. He knew something he wasn't telling me. I could taste the poison in his words. I've taken my first step, in what direction, I still don't know.


End file.
